Heart & Sincerity

36/ Hospital

Jughead came into the hospital with Archie and Betty by his side. The Serpents were not so far behind. He spotted Hog Eye's familiar face and went straight to him. "How's my dad? What happened?"

"He had a heart attack at the Wyrm. We brought him here immediately."

"We?" Jughead looked at him confused.

"Jug, is your dad a Serpent?" Betty asked.

"Maybe right now isn't the time for questions," Archie whispered to her.

"Where is he? I want to see him," Jughead asked Hog Eye.

"I haven't been told anything. I'm waiting to hear back from the doc."

As if on cue Charles came back to talk to Hog Eye. Jughead watched as he approached him. He remembers seeing him talk to his father before.

"What's the social worker doing here?" Jughead furrowed his eyebrows.

Hog Eye glanced at Charles. "I helped him bring your father."

"Who's gonna tell him?" Sweet Pea whispered to his friends.

"That's something FP or blondie over there have to tell him," Toni didn't think it was their place.

"So what's going on with my dad? I want to know."

"I spoke to one of the doctors. He said that your father will be undergoing a minor heart surgery to clear a blockage that caused his heart attack. They will have more information running some tests." Charles explained what he knew. "For now I suggest going home to relax then-"

"I'm not going anywhere. That's my dad we're talking about."

"Maybe you two should stay here. You both have quite the time to talk," Hog Eye directed to Charles. "I should get back to the bar and update the others."

"We'll take you back," Joaquin offered. Hog Eye nodded and followed them out. That left Betty and Archie with the brothers.

Charles took a seat. Jughead anxiously paced around. "I know it looks bad but don't use this against my father. He'll be good after that surgery and will be a good fit for me and my sister."

"I know that, Jughead. I'm not here to do any of that. I'm here to help him not split you up."

"Oh, God. What am I going to tell Jellybean?" Jughead ran a hand through his hair. "Or even my mom."

"Don't worry about that right now, Jug." Archie said. "Focus all your energy on your dad. That's what's important right now."

"Take time for yourself," Betty thought it would be a good idea to get him away from other responsibilities that require his full attention. "I can probably talk to my mom and tell her you need time off to spend it with your dad."

"No, don't do that!" Jughead and Charles both said at the same time. Jughead looked at Charles weird. Why did he care? Jughead knew that the news would hurt her. He knew very well about how close his father and Alice were. Charles knew the same and that it would also risk her ability to juggle her personal feelings and her mission at The Farm.

Jughead cleared his throat, "I don't want to worry her about my personal life. It's okay. I can manage."

"Okay," Betty thought it was weird but she shrugged it off.